http://www.mountainblessingsbirth.com/

Doula • Birth Educator • Yoga, 475 N Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, CA (2026)

10/25/2022

Hello my dears!

It's that wonderful time of year when the seasons are changing, and we find ourself in the familiar transitions of life and nature. I hope you are finding your new rhythms and ways of nourishing yourself.

If you are preparing for birth, I'd love to share an upcoming offering that I'm excited to announce.

🌿Move, Breathe and Prepare for Birth🌿
a childbirth preparation workshop for parents

Join us for a fun and informative prenatal partner workshop. This workshop is for expecting parents to gain awareness, information and practices on preparing for birth with yoga, breath work, relaxation practices, meditation, visualization and comfort measures for labor.

You will fill your tool belt with practices and exercises to bring more comfort, connection and ease to your birth experience.

This workshop can be enjoyed at any time during your pregnancy. Parents will have an opportunity to meet and share with other parents, workshops are a great way to build community and connection.

The Yoga Room in Tahoe City
Saturday, November 5
2:00-4:30pm
$60

Register using the link in my bio 💚

08/04/2022

🌿💚✨Enrolling NOW for this amazing Childbirth Education weekend retreat!✨💚🌿

October 14-16, 2022
Graeagle, CA

Meet other expectant families while you learn about and prepare for birth and parenthood together. Join us for this BabyMoon Experience for expecting couples.

Be positively prepared for birth with Andrea Schwartz, and GentleBirth Childbirth Educator, myself and will be co-hosting as well with offerings of daily prenatal yoga and a sound healing relaxation session.🙏

What's included:
🌿GentleBirth Childbirth Preparation Course: Your positive birth begins here
🌿Delicious meals and snacks
🌿Comfortable, well-appointed cabins w/ kitchens
🌿Prenatal Yoga each morning (optional)
🌿Time to explore
🌿Time and space to prepare for birth and parenthood together
🌿Meet other expectant families on the same path

✨☀️✨Enjoy the vibrant surroundings, hiking, fishing and exploring that the region has to offer. This birth class weekend retreat is located one hour north of Truckee, CA in the beautiful Gold Lakes region.✨☀️✨

DM me with any questions or to secure your spot today!

www.birthclassretreat.com

07/08/2022

🌿This workshop is for parents who want to know how to protect and care for themselves and their new baby after pregnancy and birth.🌿

As you care for a new baby you will need to be cared for, by yourself, your partner, your family, your friends, your care providers, your community. A proper understanding of the care you need and deserve to heal after giving birth creates a thriving environment and awareness for your new family.

I’ll be honest with you - there is no perfect or right way to do it. You will survive but I want to show you how to thrive during it. Because that’s possible for you! During this workshop I will share with you tips, resources, processes, remedies and information that I have used and seen to support many of my postpartum clients that help new parents adjust to the fourth trimester.

We often prepare more for childbirth and less for postpartum and the start to parenthood.

The first 3 months after giving birth is a sacred window - delicate, magical, challenging, raw and a time of rest and rejuvenation and integration. The care you receive during this window of time impacts and influences the rest of your life and start to parenthood.

Preparation is more than gathering information. It is understanding and acknowledging this transition and that you will need different support and care than pre-pregnancy.

I know you want (and need) to know more than what care providers are telling you. This is exactly what Preparing for the Fourth Trimester workshop is all about. It’s the “more” you are searching for. It’s the key ingredients for a happier, healthier, dare I say easier fourth trimester. It’s a mini-course for expectant parents to understand, plan and prepare for postpartum. It is packed with evidence-based and practical information for the return after giving birth.

I am so excited to share everything I know with you.

With love and excitement,
Marissa 💚

If you’d like to grab a seat at this informative workshop, head to my website:
www.mountainblessingsbirth.com

06/05/2022

I have been present with a lot of people who are experiencing large amounts of grief lately.

A new mom whose mother just passed.
A friend whose father just left his suffering.
A love of mine whose dog has crossed over the rainbow bridge.
A mama whose pregnancy and unborn baby passed.

I have had the honor of holding them while they wept, witnessing them as they rode the waves of sadness and remembrance, listening to them as they unraveled and felt and shared their open bleeding hearts.

Grief breaks our hearts open into pieces, shows us how much we love, our capacity to feel, what we’re really made of, what is at the core of us - the heart. It is not bound by time or space, rather it stays with us forever, changing as we do…forever changed.

Find your people, the ones you can be held by, the ones you trust, the ones you feel safe with, the ones who show up, the ones who check-in on you, the ones who love you unconditionally. Because, my darlings, this is the most important thing in life.

The Yogi’s say, “There is a light inside of your heart that holds no pain. You may not be able to feel it or see it at this time, but it is there.”

I am here for it. I am here for you.

With love and appreciation,
Marissa

05/27/2022

A common topic my clients like to discuss with me during prenatal sessions is coping, specifically with discomfort and intensity (whether emotional, physical, or mental).

Because we’re all different there are many ways in which to cope, be more present and focused on going deep within yourself. And I love helping people remember who they are, refine their skills and stand by their uniqueness. Believe it or not, you already have unique coping skills. You have been living life and coping through it long before birth.

The way you are in life is (likely) the way you are in labor. What works for you in life, will (likely) work for you in labor.

When you're having an intense time or moving through something or processing something big…

* What do you do to cope with it?
* How do you cheer yourself up or calm yourself down or stay present and in your power?
* What do you do to cope?
* What helps you get through it?

These are your unique coping skills. You can learn about the ways in which to cope (I highly suggest it) but remember, these are just practices - a practice is something you refine with time and make your own, so it works for YOU.

You have the power to decide what to use and trust yourself and your unique ways. If meditation doesn’t work for you in life, then it might not be helpful in labor.

When you are having a tough day or working through something…

* What makes it even worse?
* What doesn’t help?
* What annoys you?
 These are okay not to focus on.

Do you see how much you already know about yourself?

Sometimes birth is getting down and dirty. Sometimes birth is getting peaceful and meditative. And most of the time, it is all of it throughout the different stages.

How do you cope? Share in the comments below!

Believing in you and your unique abilities,
Marissa 💛

04/21/2022

“To mother is to nurture, to give life force to, to receive and to hold space for. It is the non-linear form of protective energy that does not use force or will to protect, but rather demonstrates strength in non-duality, in reception, and in acceptance. But mothering is not only the receptive feminine energy. Within mothering also lies a powerful, active, outward warrior energy that will do just about anything to protect that which she seeks to nurture. To mother is to claim the perfect balance of the feminine and masculine energy.”
~ “Understanding the Mother Archetype” by Becca Clegg

We are looking forward to welcoming you, mama, to this sweet and powerful experience.

Join myself & on a journey to reflect, integrate, connect and invite in the support you desire.

Step into a loving community of mothers who come together to support and inspire each other. You are welcomed and honored here. Come be mothered, nourished and witnessed exactly as you are. Like the roots of trees, we are here to support and uplift each other. You will be deeply held by your facilitators to embrace and celebrate your journey through motherhood.

Embracing The Womb ~ Motherhood Circle & Sound Bath 💛

Wednesday, April 27
Truckee, CA
5:30-7:00pm
$33

You will experience:
✨Guided meditation
✨Journaling + sharing
✨Yoga
✨Healing sound bath

Location and further details sent 24 hours prior to event.

This is for mamas in all stages of motherhood, from pregnancy to grandmother-hood. We encourage you to come on your own, to have this time to yourself, but please reach out if you'd like to bring your child.

Your sacred space is waiting, mama. Please visit https://gyoharmony.com/classschedule/ to register.

03/28/2022

Hi, I’m Marissa! I have had the honor of supporting parents for 10 years as a Birth Doula, Postpartum Doula, Childbirth Educator and Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga Instructor in the Truckee-Tahoe area. My journey with birth work began long before becoming a Doula. Since I can remember I have loved birth and babies. At the young age of 9-years old, I would watch “A Birth Story” on the TLC program and I knew I would work in supporting families during pregnancy and birth somehow.

It wasn’t until 2012 that I learned about Doulas and felt called to become one. That is when I found Birthing From Within and joined their Doula and Mentor program. Since then I have gained further education and training through Jane Austin’s Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga Level 1 & 2 certifications, completed Spinning Babies workshops, studied Birth Story Listening and completed an Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula training with Sacred Windows Studies.

My Doula style is loving, compassionate, understanding, grounding, calming and dynamic. I help people prepare for the birth of their dreams by providing education, information, practices and resources. I believe with the proper care, support, love and time that parents can have happier experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. I strive to help parents understand their options, how to make decisions and how to find solutions in the moment to achieve a positive empowered birth.

I like to help partners be the hero by helping them understand how to best support the birthing person. The Mother and partner deserve the best caregiving possible so they can focus on the work of birth and becoming a parent. To me being a Doula is intuitive and having a special talent for reading the scene and doing what’s best and most helpful in the moment to positively influence their experience.

I want to walk with you. I want to share with you what I know. I want to help you see what works best for you. I want to support you, love on you and be present with you. I want to hold space for you in those moments when you’re doubting yourself or things are coming up for you. I am here to lovingly support, guide and love you through your unique journey into parenthood.

03/21/2022

Spring dates for Awakened & Empowered Childbirth Education are in!

This class is beneficial for first time or birthing again parents, if you've already taken another childbirth class and whether you are planning to give birth in a hospital, birth center or at home.

🌿You can expect:
• Four 2.5-hour sessions on various topics and practices for learning about and preparing for childbirth and postpartum
• Topics include: pain-coping practices, stages of labor, the compassionate use of drugs, epidurals and interventions, labor and birthing positions, comfort measures, preparing your birth space, partner preparation, preparing for the fourth trimester and much more!
• Guided Meditation & Breathing Practices
• Birth Art
• Ongoing communication support

🌸This class was created for you to:
• Feel more prepared for childbirth and empowered for parenthood
• Experience breathing and relaxation practices that support parents through pregnancy and parenthood
• Have the tools for bringing more comfort and ease to your birth
• Understand physiological childbirth
• Learn how to prepare for birth as a partner
• Learn ways of creating a sustainable fourth trimester
• Connect with other parents on a similar journey

You can find out more details and register on my website - click the link in my bio 🌼

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, just send me a message.

With love and excitement,
Marissa 💕

01/20/2022

Dear Expecting Parents,

First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy! How are you feeling about it?

It's okay to feel the many emotions that come with pregnancy and becoming a parent. You are not alone. Not everyone is excited about it, in love with the concept or even ready at times. That's okay too.

So, what helps you feel more inspired, reassured, and excited?

For those of you who answered information and practices, you are in luck.

I am so excited to announce that I am holding a pop-up childbirth education class at the end of this month!

Whether you are planning to give birth in a hospital or at your home or a birth center, this childbirth education class will support you and your birthing journey.

Awakened & Empowered Childbirth Education ~ Virtual Series
Saturday & Sunday , January 29th & 30th
10am-2pm PST

What's included:
🌿Two 4-hour sessions on various topics and practices for learning about and preparing for childbirth and postpartum
🌿Topics include: pain-coping practices, stages of labor, the compassionate use of drugs, epidurals and interventions, labor and birthing positions, comfort measures, preparing your birth space, partner preparation, preparing for the fourth trimester and much more!
🌿Guided Meditation & Breathing Practices
🌿Birth Art
🌿30% off Virtual Prenatal Yoga Classes
🌿Ongoing communication support
💫💫💫
💛Feel more prepared for childbirth and empowered for parenthood
💛Experience breathing and relaxation practices that support parents through pregnancy and parenthood
💛Have the tools for bringing more comfort and ease to your birth
💛Understand the physiology and biology of childbirth
💛Learn how to prepare for birth as a partner
💛Learn ways of creating a sustainable fourth trimester
💛Connect with other parents on a similar journey
💛Learn about holistic and medical practices
💫💫💫
$150.00 per couple
Classes will be recorded.
To register for this fun and transformative class please send me a message with "Awakened & Empowered".

12/29/2021

I know you want a certain birth. I know you want it to go a specific way. I know you have expectations. I know you desire to know the outcome before it’s happened. It’s typically how we go about life, of course we think we know everything but we truly do not. It is a great mystery.
I see so many birth workers talk about what is keeping you from that and I must admit that I have been guilty of it too. The many birth trends and subliminal messages that say, “this is how you should give birth, this is the best way.”
✨Rather than having an agenda for the outcome - let’s help find solutions so your birth can be better and more connected as it uniquely unfolds.
✨Rather than demonizing the healthcare system - let’s help bring more harmony, advocacy and understanding for how to work WITHIN the “system” you give birth in.
✨Rather than focusing on achieving a specific type of birth - let’s help you be present and do the next best thing towards your desires. One step at a time, one decision at a time, one surge at a time, one breath at a time and reclaim, “THIS IS THE WAY I GIVE BIRTH AND IT’S MY OWN UNIQUE WAY” 💪
There is no right way to give birth. You are no more or less if you give birth with an epidural, if you were induced, if you give birth by cesarean, if you birth alone, if your birth is assisted or unassisted, and so on.
Yes, know your options, educate yourself, prepare, understand your desires and plan for what you have control over and also have openness and respect for the great mystery.
🌿Birth is birth.
🌿Birth is beautiful.
✨Let’s have compassion for the million ways in which there are to give birth.
✨Let’s find pride in the fact that no one will give birth the same, that it is not meant to be done a specific way but more about how you got through it.
✨Let’s honor the beauty and the struggles in each and every birth.
✨Let’s celebrate the miniature and large moments when you shined, when you surprised yourself, when you felt powerful, when you felt scared, when you felt shocked, when you felt in love, when you felt disappointment - Every birth has all those emotions.
Let’s normalize birth equality 💚

Doula • Birth Educator • Yoga

10/25/2022

08/04/2022

07/08/2022

06/05/2022

05/27/2022

04/21/2022

03/28/2022

03/21/2022

01/20/2022

12/29/2021

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